Nigeria’s online shoppers may hit 100m in 2030 from 17m
Social media shoppers in Nigeria may hit 100 million from the present figure of 17 million, according to a researcher and professor of Marketing in the Rivers State University, Njobuenwu Gladson Nwokah. This would represent 53 percent of Nigeria’s population.
Delivering his inaugural lecture at the Law Faculty Auditorium last week, the marketing expert said facebook dominated the platform patronised by Nigerians for sourcing product information, saying by 2030, some 100 million Nigerians would rely on facebook and other internet sources for adverts and shopping.
In the lecture titled ‘From Brick and Mortar to Click and Mortar,’ Nwokah predicted that most successful retailers would be those that innovate by unifying their growing online presence with an experiential physical environment.
“Brick and mortar will remain a major force in retail’s future, but regardless of how consumers travel to their preferred destination, the in-store experience that awaits them will be dramatically different from the present paradigm,” he said.
He said customers in 2030 would expect retailers to leverage personal information (data they willingly hand over, no less) to deliver more customised products and offers, adding that online adverts in 2030 would be more dominant through the facebook than any other social media.
“In 2030, Nigeria internet usage statistics will increase to 53 percent or more. Presumably, 50 percent of urban dwellers in Nigeria will shop more wears and electronics from online retailers,” he said.
The professor therefore recommended what he called performance measurement systems in place to detect the impact of investment in market orientation with the aim of learning how a firm works.
The chairman of the lecture series, I.K.E Ekweozor, commended Nwokah, saying he had made marketing to be above all other courses and professions by showing how to overcome poor performance and offer more services to clients.
The vice chancellor, Blessing Didia, described the inaugural lecturer as a gifted person who turned in a brilliant and voluminous lecture on short notice soon after conferment as professor.